These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Published: November 17, 2020

Format: e-Book

Pages: 449

Synopsis:

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River. 

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Published: April 21, 2020

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Format: Audiobook

Pages: 352

Synopsis:

Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her marriage in award-winning author Jennifer Hillier’s Little Secrets, a riveting novel of psychological suspense.

All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret…

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

Permanently.

February 2021 Wrap-up & Book Haul

After years of blogging, I finally managed to figure out a good way to not get behind on my wrap-up. So here I am on the first of the month to wrap things up.

I can say that I have a good reading month in February, but I did not read as much as I hoped. I tried to have a schedule, but I am failing badly at following it.

For February, I managed to finished 5 books. All of which I have not written a review yet. But that is a story for another blog.

So without further ado, let’s get into my wrap-up & a small book haul.

Why I DNF Where Dreams Descend

RATING: 🌑🌑🌑🌑🌑

Published: August 25, 2020

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Format: e-Book

Pages: 464

Synopsis:

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

RATING:🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

Published: April 01, 2014 (First published April 21, 1999)

Publisher: Haikasoru

Format: Paperback

Pages: 647

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“The good people aren’t always the ones who get saved.“

Synopsis:

Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan—where it became a runaway best seller—Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.

2021 Bookish Resolution

A new year means new reading goals. I have watched and read many bookish resolutions for 2021. Most of them looked back at their past resolution to see how good they are with keeping up with those resolutions. But I am not doing that. I think we could all agree that 2020 messed up all of our plans and schedules.

I do not want to be ambitious for my bookish goals for this year. I only have 5 that I am excited to share with you guys, plus the challenges that I will be doing for this year.

So, sit back, relax, and let us chat.

October to December 2020 Wrap-up

I am fully aware that most people have already posted their best and worst of the year. But here I am, wrapping up my reading year.

From January up until September, I managed to post a wrap-up after every month. But I decided to skip the wrap-up in October when I only managed to finish two books. And for November and December, I ended up finishing one book for each month.

So here is my quarterly wrap-up instead. Let’s get into the books!

Book Catalogue 2020: Series to Read

I am well aware that 2020 has finally come to an end. But here I am finishing the series that I started back in December that I was supposed to finish in the same month.😅

This is the last part of my Book Catalogue series, and it is one that I dreaded the most. For this post, I will be sharing with you all the completed series that I have on my shelf that I have yet to pick up.

In the past years, I began hoarding books and binge reading them once I have all of the books. But I have accumulated a ton, and I never pick them up. Opppss.

So, without further ado, let us get into the books!

Book Catalogue 2020: Incomplete Series

Hi biblio friends! Advanced Happy New Year! This is part 3 of my Book Catalogue series. If you have not seen part 1 & 2, I’ll be linking them down below.

Today’s post is all about the incomplete series on my shelf. It is either the books are not yet published, or I am not able to haul it yet because it is still not available in my country due to pandemic.

This list is way shorter than any other of the categories. So without further ado, let’s get into the books!

Book Catalogue 2020: Series to Finish

Hello Biblio friends! Welcome to part 2 of my Book Catalogue series, where I list down the books on my shelf based on a certain category. Here is the part 1 of this series, Completed Series, if you have not read it yet.

As you have read from the title, this blog will be dedicated to all the completed series on my shelf that I have yet to finish.

Whether or not I intentionally withheld myself from reading this, I will share them all to you and give you my reason as to why this series is on the list. So without further ado, let’s get into the books!